The present disclosure is directed to cable or wiring and, more particularly, to coaxial drop cable with circumferential segmented floodant locations to stop moisture migration while providing segmented locations for clean cable preparation.
Conventional coaxial drop cable is installed in outdoor aerial application where one end of the drop cable is attached to a telephone pole while the other end is attached to a customer's building. The cable is exposed to the abrasive effects of rubbing against tress, buildings, and obstructions, and rodent chew that cross the natural path of the cable installation.
The cable that is attached to the telephone pole is typically at a higher elevation than the end of the cable that is at the customer's building. The arrangement allows a natural flow of water to drain down the cable from the higher point to the lower point of the cable, externally and internally. If the jacket has an opening caused by rodent chew, abrasions, or other methods or causes, moisture will enter into the cable and flow or wick down the braid to the lowest point of the installation creating a reservoir of water that enters the connectors/equipment, thereby causing damage to corrosion and/or shorting out the coaxial circuit.
To prevent the aforementioned problem, floodants are applied underneath the cable jacket that coats the braid to protect and minimize the moisture flow in the cable. Typically, the floodant is a non-flowing type such as APD, because it cannot enter the connectors or equipment. This non-flowing floodant does not help with protecting the cable from the effects of moisture, but it does not stop the flow of water in the cable.
In addition, there are conventional floodants on the market that are a flowing type, which are typically used in underground applications and are meant to fill the voids around the braids and jacket. These flowing floodants will seal and flow to an opening in the jacket if the jackets gets punctured by rodent chew, abrasions, or other methods or causes. However, this flowing type of floodant cannot be used in aerial applications because the floodant would flow from the higher point to the lower point of the cable into the connectors and equipment, causing damage and creating a non-working condition.
Another type of floodant that is conventionally used is a thick tar-like compound that is non-flowing, but coats the braid and fills the voids. However, the tar-like floodant is messy when exposed during the connectorization process and tends to get all over the equipment and, if introduced into the equipment, creates a non-working condition.
Therefore, it may be desirable to provide an aerial drop cable that uses a non-flowing segmented floodant that stops water flow, but does not create a mess during the connectorization process. It may also be desirable to provide other types of cable or wire, such as for example, underground coax cable, that uses a non-flowing segmented floodant that stops water flow, but does not create a mess during the connectorization process. It may also be desirable to provide an aerial drop cable, an underground coax cable, or any other cable that has an easy method for identifying where the floodant is inside the cable.